KARACHI: Police investigators probing the recent targeted killings in the city have found the involvement of the “same group” in the attacks on workers and offices of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Pak Sarzameen Party, increasing fears that the killings are designed to destabilise the law and order situation in the metropolis.

Karachi police chief Dr Amir Shaikh confirmed the involvement of the “same group” in recent attacks and said that in at least three cases police had received detailed forensic reports of the spent bullet casings recovered from the crime scenes which suggested that same weapons were used in the attacks.

Terming it a major breakthrough in the investigations, he said the “interesting findings” strengthened police’s assessment about involvement of the same group in the recent targeted killings.

Hours after the assassination of PSP leader Abdul Haseeb Khilji on Monday evening in North Nazimabad, a meeting was held to review the progress of investigations into the recent cases of targeted killings in the city.

Police say Monday’s killing of PSP man may be linked to personal issues

“In three cases we have found reports about the use of same weapons,” Dr Shaikh told Dawn after chairing the meeting. “For instance, the [December 2018] attack on a PSP office in Rizvia Society and then firing on an MQM-Pakistan office in New Karachi were executed by the same group.”

He, however, refused to divulge any detail about the third case in which the investigators found the involvement of the same group.

“Interestingly, they [the two parties] are political opponents to each other, but someone definitely wants to cause instability in the city and trigger violence by killing their workers,” he added.

The Rangers-led operation, which was launched in September 2013, has improved the security situation in the city to a large extent as peace was restored to residential and commercial areas after years of bloodshed on sectarian, ethnic and political grounds.

But, a sudden surge in incidents of targeted killings on political and sectarian grounds have set alarm bells ringing in the quarters concerned.

Since late last year over a dozen people have been killed in targeted attacks. They include former MQM-P lawmaker Ali Raza Abidi, workers of the MQM-P and also those associated with the Mustafa Kamal-led PSP.

However, the Karachi police have also found “personal enmity” and “business rivalries” as possible motives behind killings of some people associated with different political parties and religious groups.

“We have recently witnessed a surge in killings but it’s a fact that majority of the cases have been solved,” said the Karachi police chief. “In several cases, the suspects had been arrested and motives behind the killings detected.”

He elaborated that four of the total six cases of policemen’s killings over the past few months had been solved and key suspects were arrested. “In other cases, we are exploring all options and in some cases personal or business reasons have been found as possible motive for the killings.”

He also referred to the probe into Abidi’s murder case in which suspects and motive behind the murder had been identified.

In other remaining cases, he said that the police had found important clues, which would lead to arrests soon.

About Monday’s killing of PSP leader Khilji, police sources said that they were looking into the matter with all angles but it appeared that it was related to some personal issues.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2019